River Crossing

There is a river to cross using a river raft and there are eight people (father, mother, policeman, thief, 2 daughters and 2 sons). No one knows to operate the raft except the adults and also excluding the thief. Only two people can go in the raft at a time. The raft should keep coming back and forth in order to pick and drop the people.
Rules to be followed:
Father: the father cannot stay in the raft or outside the raft without the presence of the mother.
Mother: the mother cannot stay in the raft or outside the rat without the presence of the father.
Thief: the thief is not allowed to stay with any of the family members unless there is a policeman.
Policeman: the policeman can travel with anyone.
2 sons and 2 daughters: they are not allowed to travel in the raft without the presence of an adult. They cannot either travel in the presence of only thieves without the policeman. The sons cannot be with their mothers without their father's supervision. The daughters are not allowed to be there with their fathers without the supervision of their mothers. But the daughters and the sons can be left unsupervised (as long as the other rules are applied).
What is the sequence that the people should follow in order to cross the river through the raft keeping in mind all the rules?
The rules are applicable not only in the raft but also outside the raft.




Similar Riddles

Dr Doom invited a group of puzzle fanatics to a party which was oriented toward having puzzle-oriented games. At night, he introduced the guests to a 'unique riddle'. A prize was offered to the one who solved it first.

The guests included six people named Tom Paul, Fox Obama, Jeremy Reener, Alex Murphy, Prim Pastor, and Ellen Page. The winner of the 'unique riddle' contest was to be announced after the dinner. So Dr. Doom stood up and started the announcement:

'Okay now everybody!'
'The winner of�'
'The Hardest Riddle Ever Event'

But before he could complete it, the light went out and his voice was not heard without the mic by anyone. But they already knew who the winner was. Can you deduce the name of the winner?

Asked by Neha on 11 May 2026


Replace the letters of words with a number so that the below equation holds true

BASE +
BALL
---------
GAMES
----------

Asked by Neha on 10 Oct 2023

Why do you find that most of the buildings are deprived of the 13th floor?

Asked by Neha on 11 Jan 2025


It's pretty hard to give up.
If you remove a part of it, you will be left with a bit.
Even if you remove another part, the bit still remains.
Remove one more and it still remains.

What is it?

Asked by Neha on 06 May 2025

Can you solve the below tricky visual equation?

Visual Equation

Asked by Neha on 29 Jun 2024

Birbal was jester, counsellor, and fool to the great Moghul emperor, Akbar.
The villagers loved to talk of Birbal's wisdom and cleverness,
and the emperor loved to try to outsmart him.
One day Akbar (emperor) drew a line across the floor.
"Birbal," he ordered, "you must make this line shorter, but you cannot erase any bit of it."
Everyone present thought the emperor had finally outsmarted Birbal.
It was clearly an impossible task.
Yet within moments the emperor and everyone else present had to agree that Birbal had made the line shorter without erasing any of it.
How could this be?

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021


I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 23 Nov 2025

The King of a distant land had heard that Birbal was one of the wisest men in the East and so desired to meet Birbal. He sent Birbal an invitation to visit his country.

In due course, Birbal arrived in the distant kingdom. When he entered the palace he was flabbergasted to find not one but six kings seated there. All looked alike. All were dressed in kingly robes. Who was the real king?

The very next moment he got his answer. Confidently, he approached the king and bowed to him.

How did Birbal know who was the real king?

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021

A woman who works in a sweet shop has a measurement of 32-26-36, is 5"4" tall, and wears size "6" shoes. What do you think she weighs?

Asked by Neha on 28 Apr 2026


How far can you walk into the woods?

Asked by Neha on 21 Jul 2025

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword

The day before the 1996 U.S. presidential election, the NYT Crossword contained the clue “Lead story in tomorrow’s newspaper,” the puzzle was built so that both electoral outcomes were correct answers, requiring 7 other clues to have dual responses.